Senate Dems Plan to Force Vote on Trump’s Muslim Ban

Senate Democrats are planning to try to force votes on some of Donald Trump’s most controversial campaign promises, including a ban on Muslims entering the country.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested Senate Republicans should have to vote on the GOP presidential front-runner’s policies after they’ve refused to say they wouldn’t support Trump if he wins their party’s nomination.

“These votes will give all Senators a chance to take a stand on the policy issues dominating the public debate–and Republicans a chance to stand with the frontrunner for their nomination,” the Democratic leader said Thursday in a statement.

It’s unclear when Democrats will try to force the votes or what legislation they will use to advance the measures. {snip}

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Asked about Reid’s comments, McConnell warned that Republicans could also bring up amendments that would put Democrats in an awkward spot with their presidential candidates.

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Four Republicans–including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is also running for president–voted against a nonbinding proposal during a Judiciary Committee meeting late last year that would have specifically opposed a Trump-style ban that keeps a religious group from entering the country.

Phil Novack, Cruz’s spokesman, said at the time that the amendment, from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),  boiled down to a “political stunt.”